


Let Him Be Little

by firecracker189



Series: Our Little Family [10]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Little!Tony, Non-Sexual Age Play, big brother!rhodey, nsap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-10 03:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15282291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: sometimes tony needs to be smaller than normal. Rhodey is the only one that knows that. Luckily, he's a good sport and adores his baby brother. Always has, ever since university.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts are open too! Just a reminder, they're always open if you want to see something in any verse or just as a stand alone!

_Anthony, there is no running in the tower!_ JARVIS insisted for approximately the eight hundredth time since the phone call had come in.

Tony slowed. Barely. He couldn’t help it! _Rhodey_ was coming to visit for a _WHOLE WEEK!!!_

JARVIS needed to stop being, to borrow one of Stevie’s favorite insults, a stink head about this whole thing. He kept buzzing around the common areas, moving toys from here to there and folding blankets haphazardly. “J,” he spoke slowly. “You really don’t seem to understand this. Rhodey is coming to visit. I haven’t _seen_ Rhodey for three months.” Tony raised his hands in irritation. “Excuse me for wanting things to be a little less chaotic around here! Do you want Rhodey to trip on one of Clint’s blankets? Or step on a Lego and be incapacitated? No! Now shut up!”

Tony was in the middle of transferring a large batch of dirty dishes to the dishwasher from the sink when he heard an amused voice behind him.

“I didn’t know you’d gone in for the whole domestic thing, Tone.”

“Rhodey!” Tony sloshed some soapy water as he flung the dish brush down and stampeded his friend for a hug.

“It’s good to see you too.” Rhodey replied, hugging Tony as tight as possible. He clapped him on the back as they parted, and Tony _beamed._ “You can finish that later,” Rhodey squeezed Tony’s shoulder. “Right now I want to catch up.” He steered Tony to the sofa and they both sat down. “How are things around here? Chaotic as normal?”

“UNCLE RHODEY!” Before Tony could open his mouth, the gleeful screech had answered for him, Clint pelting into the room with wet hair and only his Ninja Turtle undies on. He immediately flung his arms around Rhodey, and the colonel chuckled.

“Hiya, squirt. Why’re you all wet?” He played along for Clint’s sake.

“Bath!” Clint chirped happily. “I even played with the baby ‘cause Momma said I had to be nice. Bruce isn’t little today, so he’s out with Bucky doin’ grownup stuff. Papa is downstairs training.” He let go of Rhodey just as Tasha appeared, toting a damp-haired Stevie.

“You little rascal,” she scolded. “Get back in there and put on your pajamas! Stivi let me put him in his.”

“Well yeah,” Clint shifted from foot to foot. “But he’s a _baby_. He doesn’t got a choice.”

She truly couldn’t argue with that. “Well, big boy, would you like to go and _pick_ your pajamas then?” she put Stevie down and let him crawl over to Tony.

“Yeah!” Clint squealed happily, looking like he’d been given a very important job.

“Come on then,” Natasha stuck out a hand and Clint scowled. “Don’t give me that look. You know there’s no running in the tower.” The two left the room again, and Tony laughed as he picked up Stevie, putting him between the two of them.

“Hi, sweet boy,” Rhodey cooed, and Stevie smiled as he cuddled with his blanket. “I missed you.” Rhodey told him, kissing his cheek. “I missed all my kiddos.” He said softly, looking over at Tony, who gave him a strained smile.

They waited in silence until Natasha returned with Clint, letting her take over the baby’s supervision. “I’m gonna take Tony upstairs,” he said softly, and she nodded. “C’mon, Tone. Let’s go to your room.” Tony leaned softly against him as they took the elevator up, feeling softer and younger than normal. By the time they stepped out on his floor he had his fingers in his mouth.

“Rhodey?” Tony asked, and it was so small and plaintive that Rhodey had to smile at him as he turned to face him.

“What, Tony?” he said softly.

“Um, I don’t…I don’t feel so big right now.” Tony was teary eyed already. “Don’t…don’t even feel normal little right now.”

“That’s okay, bud.” Rhodey said delicately. The handful of times Tony had regressed younger than his normal age could be counted on one hand. But he loved seeing him smaller than normal. “I’m right here. Tell me what you need.” He encouraged, with that warm honey soft voice that made Tony feel so safe.

Tony whined and reached out, a few tears sliding down his cheeks.

“Alright, okay, take it easy tiger,” Rhodey murmured softly, picking him up and cuddling him close. “It’s okay. I’m here. You just cry if you need to.”

It took him about ten minutes to calm Tony down, then he set him on the bathroom counter and wiped his face off with a damp cloth. “Calm down, Tone, that’s it…” he murmured. “Now. Let’s get you into something cozy, hm?” he reached down under the sink and put out the changing supplies, borrowing a diaper from the stuff Bucky had left in the bathroom for Steve. “Do you want to go and bring me your pajamas?”

Tony nodded and scurried off, coming back with a pair of pajamas and handing them to Rhodey.

“Good boy. Lie down for me?” He was, fortunately, in good practice at diaper changes due to having dealt with Stevie recently enough. So he’d gotten Tony all cozied up in his diaper and pajamas in no time. Tony had turned into quite the little cuddle bug by the time they got back into the bedroom, and Rhodey had to wonder as to his age. “Can you tell me how old you are, buddy?” he asked softly, rooting in one of the bedside drawers until he found one of the pacifiers Stevie tended to leave stashed around. He offered it to Tony, who took it in his hand, eyeing it warily.

“Um. M’three.” He mumbled, sticking the paci in his mouth. Rhodey let out a little ‘aw’ and Tony scowled at him.

“You’re pretty cute, Tone.” Rhodey told him, and kissed his forehead. Tony frowned again and let Rhodey put him in bed, snuggling up to him, sucking at his borrowed pacifier. Rhodey put his arm around him and Tony started to drift off to sleep. He just felt so safe and taken care of.

“Goodnight, buddy.” Rhodey whispered, watching as Tony nodded off. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Tony struggled hard, prying his eyes open and batting at Rhodey’s arm tiredly. “M’glad you’re here.” He mumbled around the pacifier. “Missed you.”

“I know, Tone.” Rhodey whispered, shushing him. “But now it’s time for little boys to take their nap.”


	2. Chapter 2

Tony was still smaller than normal when he woke up the next morning. Rhodey had fallen asleep beside him and he was warm and sturdy and Tony didn’t ever want to leave that position. Tony rubbed his face against Rhodey’s shoulder and let out a little sigh.

“Mmm…Morning, buddy. How’d you sleep?” Rhodey not-so-subtly checked to see if Tony was wet and Tony whined loudly. “Ah, hey no. You remember what happened last time. You don’t want another rash, do you?” Rhodey said, and Tony stopped squirming.

“No rash,” He grumbled, sitting up and spitting out the borrowed pacifier. “Rhodey change, please?” he asked politely.

“Yeah. Just a minute.” Rhodey stood and stretched, groaning as his back popped. “Alright, come on, squirt. Then it’s breakfast time. I need some coffee.”

_Coffee is already brewed, Colonel Rhodes._

“Mm, JARVIS, you’re a life saver.” Rhodey said fervently, as Tony crawled over to him and wrapped around him, refusing to be put down. He laughed softly. “Oh, you’re so cute, baby bunny,” he crooned, and Tony hid his face in his neck sleepily. “Let’s get you changed so we can go eat.”

Tony was absolutely the picture of sweet and sleepy as Rhodey cleaned him up, chewing on his fingers and blinking those big brown eyes up at him. He never ever wanted to put sweet boy down again. “There we go,” he cooed, patting at Tony’s belly as he taped the clean diaper in place. “Now wait for me to wash my hands and we’ll go get breakfast.” He trashed the dirty diaper and moved over to the sink, scrubbing his hands and drying off before responding to the quiet grabby hands Tony was giving him. Scooping up the sleepy little, he carried him into the kitchen and plopped him down in a chair. “You wait right there.” He told him.

Rhodey sipped at a cup of coffee, trying to regain his senses before he straightened up and mumbled, “J, what’s there that he can eat in the pantry?”

_I have only ever seen Sir this small once. I am embarrassed to say I cannot accurately predict his food preferences. I can, however give you an idea of what Clint and Steve prefer when they are in their headspaces. Stevie prefers mashed up bananas and rice cereal, while Clint prefers sliced fruit and toast with butter._

“Thanks.” He poked around until he settled on mashed bananas, finishing his coffee before peeling the bananas and mashing them up, using a plastic bowl and one of Clint’s colorful spoons to serve it to the little one. “Open up,” he crooned as he sat down beside Tony. “I gotcha some bananas.” It turned out that a littler Tony was a messier Tony. By the time he’d finished, he had to wipe his face off with a damp cloth because Tony had gotten more banana smeared over himself than in his mouth.

“Okay, big guy,” Rhodey picked up Tony and carried him into the living area. “What say you and I cuddle for a good long while, hmm?” He sat down and Tony curled up around him, nuzzling sweetly at his chest. Rhodey cuddled him close and kissed his hair. But sleepy Tony wasn’t to last it seemed. After an hour of tv watching Tony started coming alive, though it looked like using his words wasn’t going to be on the table.

Tony squirmed down from the sofa and toddled over to the basket of toys in the corner that was normally reserved for Steve and Clint. He plopped down on his diaper-clad bum and rooted through the small bin until he found a few stuffed animals he was pleased with, then turned and stared at Rhodey with puppy eyes until Rhodey relented. “Oh, alright.” He followed Tony over and sat down on the carpet beside him. “You want to play with those? Or do you want these?” He reached for the plastic bag that held the big Legos, holding it out towards Tony. Tony shook his head and thrust a soft pastel purple cat towards him. “Okay.” Rhodey set the bag aside again. “We can play animals.” He made the cat meow at Tony and Tony giggled.

Over and over again Rhodey kept thinking how adorable Tony was like this. It had probably been since before Tony was kidnapped that he’d last seen him this small. He hoped it meant good things about Tony’s recovery process, that he was healing from the whole Jericho fiasco. His best friend had really taken a hit with Obadiah and everything, and quite frankly Rhodey didn’t think one death was enough for that bastard. It wasn’t until Tony’s stomach growled so loudly they both stopped what they were doing to stare at it that Rhodey thought they should take a break. He put the cat back in the toybox and smiled at Tony.

“I think that means lunch time, don’t you?” he asked, and Tony made eager grabby hands. “Alright,” Rhodey agreed, hoisting Tony up and onto his hip. Thank God Tony was lighter than Steve or Thor. Rhodey couldn’t ever pick them up and hold them, and sometimes they cried about it. Tony, however, was the perfect weight that he could manage with just a few strained muscles the next day. “C’mon, munchkin. Time to get something to eat.” He sat Tony on the kitchen counter and Tony began to chew on his fingers. Rhodey debated for a minute before tentatively asking: “Hey, buddy, how do you feel about a bottle?”

Tony blinked big doe eyes at his big brother before taking sticky fingers out of his mouth and mumbling, “Wan’ baba, pease, Rho.”

Rhodey _melted_. “Oh, you’re so good for using your manners!” He crooned, and kissed the top of Tony’s unruly curls. Tony did a little happy wiggle and reached out his free hand again. “Want me to hold you? Okay. I can do that.” Tony shortening his name was the cutest fucking thing he’d seen in a damn long time, he thought as he mixed up some protein shake and filled a spare bottle. They were lucky that Steve spent so much time all over the place, or he wouldn’t have any supplies for a much younger Tony. “Is this what you want?” he teased as he waved the bottle in front of Tony’s face. Tony smacked his lips and reached out with a nod. “Okay, here you go.” He relented and let Tony hold it himself as he carried him into the living room. Just as his ass hit the cushions, JARVIS announced that they had a visitor.

“Oh, um. Let them in, I guess?” Rhodey said, looking down at Tony, who was blissfully unaware of the possible conflict. He was glad when it was just Bucky and Steve that strolled in, though. They were least likely to betray Tony’s confidence.

“Well, hi there!” Bucky immediately took things in stride, waving at Tony, who waved back with the hand not gripping his bottle. He sat down and put Steve in his lap. “I was going to see if the two of you wanted to go out at some point today, but now I think we should just stay in. Stevie would love the company, wouldn’t you, baby bug?” he kissed Steve’s nose and Steve went near cross-eyed.

Rhodey nodded. “He’s not this little very often. But I’m glad he is. I’m sure he’d love the distraction. We played with the animals earlier, but I’m sure Stevie would be more fun than me.”

Bucky ran a hand through Steve’s hair and nodded. “I’m sure they’ll have a blast. And you don’t have to worry. We won’t tell anyone if he doesn’t want us to.” He put Steve down on the floor and Rhodey followed suit once Tony had drank his bottle. “Go play!” Bucky encouraged them, and Steve made the first move, eagerly crawling over and rooting through the toys.

“Go on, bud.” Rhodey murmured as Tony looked behind him and gave Rhodey a curious look. “Go play! Stevie wants to play with you!”


End file.
